Benchmark November CPO on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended at MYR3,026 a metric ton, down 0.2% from Wednesday’s close.

Investors are closely watching developments in the euro zone and the U.S. for greater clarity on whether developed economies may be slipping into a recession.

“I think investors are still concerned about external factors and some are sitting on the sidelines for new cues,” a trading manager at a Jakarta-based vegoil exporter said. “But a lot of buying has been taking place this week, particularly from South Asian countries, as palm oil prices appear to be stabilizing.”

Traders also said the long queue of palm oil vessels in several Indonesian and Malaysian ports points to higher overall exports this month, and may lead to a drawdown in palm oil stocks in Malaysia.

“Production at some of our estates is marginally lower, so I think palm oil will be well supported at current price levels,” a manager at a major plantation company in Malaysia said.

Output in Malaysia and Indonesia, both major producers of palm oil, is widely expected to be lower in August as workers go on holidays during the fasting month of Ramadan.

In the cash market, refined palm olein for October/November/December was traded at $1,090/ton, free on board Malaysian ports, a physical market broker in Singapore said.